Baffle for a firearm suppressor

ABSTRACT

The present invention describes a baffle for use in a firearm suppressor or silencer. The baffle is a hollow tubular body of cylindrical cross section casing narrowing to a cone shape having sides that define an inlet and outlet. The baffle walls of the subject invention are thicker towards the bore of the suppressor making it more resistant to the heated pressurized gases and other elements traveling through the suppressor or silencer.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/490,252 filed Apr. 26, 2017. The entire contents of the above application are hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to suppressors or silencers for firearms. More particularly, this invention relates to specialized firearm barrel adaptations for suppressing gunfire noise.

To fire a bullet from a firearm, gunpowder is ignited behind a bullet. The gunpowder creates a high-pressure pulse of hot gas. The pressure of the gas forces the bullet down the barrel of the gun. When the bullet exits the end of the firearm barrel, the pressure behind the bullet is immense and just like popping the cork on a bottle; the “pop” sound it creates is very loud. The sound is from the initial pressure wave coming out the barrel. Additional gas comes out after the initial pressure wave but not as much as the initial wave.

Known suppressors or silencers typically consist of an outer housing that is connectable to the end of the rifle barrel by screw threads. Traditional suppressors or silencers have a larger volume compared to the barrel (20 or 30 times greater). With the suppressor or silencer in place, the pressurized gas behind the bullet has a big space to expand into, decreasing the pressure of the heated gas. When the bullet finally exits through the hole in the suppressor or silencer, the pressure being released is decreased; therefore, the sound of the gun firing is much softer.

The interior of the housing of typical suppressors or silencers support a plurality of individual cone-shaped baffle members separated by spacer members. There is a balancing act with suppressors or silencers used with many firearms. The baffles within the suppressors are needed to divert the gas from the bore in order to allow the gas to expand and depressurize; but, if the suppressor or silencer is too efficient in slowing gas down, it builds up an excess amount of pressure in the firearm barrel and causes the firearm to malfunction.

In a traditional suppressor or silencer, the cone members are individually machined and are secured within the housing with a series of spacers between the cone members. The first conical shaped baffle joint where first baffle meets the external tube of the suppressor or silencer is the area that sees the highest pressure within the whole system. These baffles are typically formed of metal and are subjected to wear and corrosion caused by the explosive gases entering the housing. After a limited number of rounds, the baffles fail, particularly the first baffle. In order to increase the lifespan of the baffles, and consequently the lifespan of the suppressor or silencer, one must use materials that are hard to machine, which increases manufacturing costs. The entire suppressor or silencer is subject to an additional federal tax, which increases the cost of replacement.

There is a point of diminishing returns on efforts to eliminate sound from a firearm since a suppressor cannot eliminate the supersonic shockwave, or “crack” caused by the bullet traveling in excess of the speed of sound. Instead, it is important to focus on inventive concepts that allow the suppressor or silencer to be made smaller, cheaper, stronger, more durable and/or lighter in weight.

As a suppressor or silencer typically functions, most erosion of air is right around the center of the bore of the suppressor or silencer because not only is gas and a projectile (bullet) traveling through the bore but also gunpowder and fillers are burning and traveling at speeds up to 6000 ft/s. As such, there would be an advantage of having more material around at the end of the baffle closest to the bore. This design ensures the baffle material wears away more slowly. The baffle of such a design would still function even if half of it had worn away.

Cone shaped baffles known in the prior art are typically of uniform thickness because they are stamped, i.e. created from a flat piece of material. This prevents the baffle from being made thicker at any point along its walls. It would be useful to have a baffle that is forged rather than stamped, as for forging-realigns grain structure of metal itself and makes it stronger to allow to make the part thinner and lighter. Finally, traditional baffles are limited in their wall thickness as the edge that interfaces with the spacer of the tubular casing requires a maximum thickness simply because the edge needs to be properly welded to the tubular casing. By forging the baffle, the baffle can be thicker at the bore end yet still maintain the thinner wall at the tubular casing end for welding purposes.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention seeks to meet these needs by providing a baffle for use in a firearm suppressor or silencer wherein the baffle wall is thicker towards the bore of the suppressor. The baffle is a hollow tubular body of cylindrical cross section casing narrowing to a cone shape having sides that define an inlet and outlet end with an interior and exterior surface. The casing has an inlet end opening for receiving gas into the baffle and an outlet end opening through which the gas exits the baffle.

The present invention also provides an improved suppressor or silencer for a firearm with a tubular housing having an interior cavity with a plurality of baffles described above that are capable of being nested with complimentary baffles that are positioned within the tubular housing having a center point aligned with a longitudinal axis of the tubular housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a traditional suppressor or silencer for a firearm.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the baffle cone shape of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the baffle of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of baffles of the present invention in a suppressor casing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning to FIG. 1, a traditional suppressor or silencer for a firearm is shown in cross sectional detail. The tubular casing 100 is threaded at 110 onto the end of the firearm (not shown). The bullet travels along the path of A, exiting the hole 120. The gas travels along path A and exits out of hole 120. The gas also travels along path B and expands into the chambers created by a series of cone-shaped nested baffles, shown as 140A-G, which usually have a smooth and continuous outer surface 150.

Turning to FIG. 2, the baffle of the present invention is a generally hollow tubular body of cylindrical cross section casing narrowing to a cone shape having sides that define an inlet and outlet end with an interior and exterior surface. The casing has an inlet end opening 300 for receiving gas into the baffle and an outlet end opening 400 through which the gas exits the baffle. It is noted that the inlet end opening 300 may be angled 305 as shown in FIG. 2 or it may be straight across at the inlet opening end (not shown).

Turning to FIGS. 3 and 4, the cross sectional view of the baffle of the present invention is shown (FIG. 3) with an inlet end opening 300 that is oriented towards the bore of the tubular casing 500 (FIG. 4) and casing attachment end 310 that is oriented away from the bore of the tubular casing 500 (FIG. 4). The baffle increases in thickness 315 towards the inlet end opening 300 and decreases in thickness towards the casing attachment end 310

Turning to FIG. 4, the suppressor or silencer for a firearm of the present invention is shown in cross sectional detail. As shown in the traditional suppressor or silence of FIG. 1, the tubular casing 500 is threaded at 510 onto the end of the firearm (not shown). The bullet travels along the paths of A and out of hole 520. The gas also travels along path B and expands into the chambers created by a series of the cone-shaped nested baffles 530A-G. The baffles 530A-G directs the high pressure gas away from the center of the suppressor or silencer. The baffles 530A-G increase in thickness 315 towards the center of the casing 500. While FIG. 4 shows a suppressor or silencer with a plurality of baffles shown and described in FIGS. 2-3, it is also contemplated that only one or a select number of the baffles would be needed such that the baffles may be used in conjunction with other baffles of uniform thickness in a suppressor or silencer.

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference has been made to the preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language has been used to describe these embodiments. However, this specific language intends no limitation of the scope of the invention, and the invention should be construed to encompass all embodiments that would normally occur to one of ordinary skill in the art. The particular implementations shown and described herein are illustrative examples of the invention and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope of the invention in any way. For the sake of brevity, conventional aspects of the system (and components of the individual operating components of the system) may not be described in detail. Furthermore, the connecting lines, or connectors shown in the various figures presented are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical or logical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships, physical connections or logical connections may be present in a practical device. Moreover, no item or component is essential to the practice of the invention unless the element is specifically described as “essential” or “critical”. Numerous modifications and adaptations will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A baffle for a firearm suppressor comprising: a. a hollow tubular body with an interior and exterior surface of cylindrical cross section having ends that define a gas inlet and a gas outlet; b. the diameter of the gas inlet end is smaller than the diameter of the gas outlet end; and c. the thickness of the tubular body increases from the gas outlet end to the gas inlet end.
 2. A suppressor for a firearm comprising: a. a tubular member having a plurality of baffles, at least one of which includes a hollow tubular body with an interior and exterior surface of cylindrical cross section having ends that define a gas inlet and a gas outlet; b. the diameter of the gas inlet end is smaller than the diameter of the gas outlet end; and c. the thickness of the tubular body increases from the gas outlet end to the gas inlet end.
 3. A method for suppressing noise caused by a firearm comprising the steps of: channeling propulsion gas through a tubular member having at least one baffle having a structure defined by a hollow tubular body with an interior and exterior surface of cylindrical cross section having ends that define a gas inlet and a gas outlet wherein the diameter of the gas inlet end is smaller than the diameter of the gas outlet end and the thickness of tubular body increases from the gas outlet end to the gas inlet end. 